LLOYD WEBBER CALLS FOR PROPER ACTION ON FILESHARING
Andrew Lloyd Webber, or Lord Webber for the purposes of this story, was in the House Of Lords yesterday to encourage his fellow lords and ladies to dedicate some brain space to the music industry's endeavours to force the internet service providers to take a more proactive role in combating illegal file sharing.

He said that while the government had set itself the aim of reducing unlawful filesharing by 70-80% over 2-3 years, it was relying on the music and internet industries reaching some kind of voluntary cross-industry agreement, something which is looking less and less likely to happen. The government therefore, Webber argues, needs to start considering new laws to force the net firms into action but, he says, they "would appear to be willing the ends but not the means". He does have something nearing a point there, you know.

Webber told the Lords that Britain's creative industries could collapse if hard line measures to combat file sharing - which may or may not include the controversial three-strike system whereby persistent file sharers are cut off from the net - are not introduced. And, he said, the music industry would be first.

According to the Guardian, he told the Lords: "People have got into the habit of talking glibly about 'content providers' as if they are some sort of optional part of the process. Britain's creative industries are not content providers for broadband. They create the experiences that bring consumers to the internet in the first place, and they can only survive in a safe internet world. The cultural 'free lunch' is not free because film, music and other media cannot be produced, marketed and distributed for free. Investment must be rewarded and performers, composers and authors must be paid".

On the role of ISPs in all this, he continued: "We need to remember that one of the principal reasons for their [the ISPs] popularity is that they [provide access to] information and creative content that people want. If internet service providers continually attract people to illegal sites - as they do now - and not to legitimate sources of content, then they are part of the problem, not part of the solution. [At the moment] the internet is a Somalia of unregulated theft and piracy".

On the implication of all this for the music and wider creative industries he continued: "The music business, because of the universal popularity of music, it ease of access and its relatively low bandwidth requirements will be the first to fall, but other cultural industries will surely follow".

As previously reported, despite some tough talking this time last year, in particular by Culture Minister Andy Burnham, the government has so far shied away from introducing new laws to force ISPs to act against illegal file sharing, and Comms Minister Stephen Carter's recent 'Digital Britian' report proposed few such measures. This has led to some predicting that there'll be no real legislative progress in this domain until at least after next year's General Election, rumours which will do little to encourage internet service providers to take on any increased piracy policing role voluntarily.

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MADONNA FAILS IN ADOPTION BID
A Malawian court has ruled that Madonna will not be allowed to adopt a second child from the country.

As previously reported, Madonna flew into Malawi on Sunday and applied to adopt four year old Chifundo 'Mercy' James the following day. Chifundo was living in the same orphanage as David Banda, the child the singer adopted from the country previously. But at a closed hearing this morning Judge Esmie Chondo told the court in Lilongwe: "I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna".

According to the Associated Press, the application was rejected due to a rule that states parents wishing to adopt children from Malawi must have be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months. News that will please those against Madonna's second adoption, though they may be wondering why that rule wasn't applied first time round.

It is not yet known if Madonna plans to appeal the decision.

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MU BACKS PRS IN GOOGLE STAND OFF
As Google's stand off with the music publishing community over what it should or shouldn't have to pay to feature music videos on YouTube expanded to Germany on Wednesday - as it was confirmed the web firm had failed to negotiate a new licensing deal with German songwriter collecting society GEMA - the UK's Musicians Union threw its support behind UK collecting society PRS For Music in its ongoing fallout with the video sharing website.

As much previously reported, Google pulled so called premium videos off YouTube in the UK last month after claiming PRS were being unreasonable in what they were demanding in order to agree to issue the web service with a new licence to stream songs written or published by their members. The royalty fees PRS wanted, Google argued, made the whole YouTube business model unfeasible - ie the royalties could never be covered by advertising. PRS argue it is Google who are being unreasonable, by continuing to ask songwriters and publishers to charge nominal rates for their content despite the web firm's ever increasing overall ad revenues and profits.

The stand off continues, and PRS recently launched a special website in order to state its case in its dispute with Google, and to encourage songwriters to confirm their support for their collecting society. Various music industry trade bodies have also publicly supported PRS, including cross-sector trade body UK Music and the two trade bodies that represent the collecting society's corporate and creator members respectively, the Music Publishers Association and the British Academy Of Composers And Songwriters.

This week the Musicians' Union confirmed its support for PRS. It said in a statement on Wednesday: "On Monday 9 March 2009, internet giant Google began denying UK music fans access to premium music videos on YouTube which, they say, was prompted by PRS for Music asking too much for music rights. Google say they cannot operate YouTube if they have to pay a royalty - however small - every time a video containing music is played. Google bought YouTube for $1.65bn in 2006 and made operating profits of £3bn in 2008".

The continue: "In 2007, the UK's independent Copyright Tribunal established that a minimum royalty per play was an essential requirement in the licensing of online services. Google is failing to recognise this and ascribes little value to music - in spite of a huge increase in music usage on YouTube's UK service in the past year alone. PRS for Music, the not-for-profit collective of 60,000 songwriters and composers, is asking Google to pay the going rate for music. Music creators rely on receiving royalties whenever and wherever their work is used. Royalties are vital in nurturing creative music talent. They make sure music creators are rewarded for their creativity in the same way any other person would be in their work".

On YouTube's video blockade, they continue: "Neither PRS for Music nor its 60,000 songwriter and composer members asked Google to remove any music content from YouTube. It was a unilateral decision taken mid-negotiation by Google. Many music fans in the UK are confused by Google's action and the creators of music share their concerns. It is not in anyone's best interests to block access to music. Fans are denied enjoyment, creators aren't paid and illegal music sites benefit from the resulting displacement of web traffic".

Concluding, the Union says: "www.fairplayforcreators.com is an online forum set up by PRS For Music so that creators everywhere can publicly demonstrate their concern over the way their work is treated by online businesses. Fair Play For Creators believes that fans should have access to the music they love, and that music creators should be fairly paid by the online businesses who benefit from its use. The Musician's Union is backing the Fair Play For Creators campaign. [We encourage our members to] visit the website and show your support at www.fairplayforcreators.com".

The recently formed Featured Artist Coalition has also issued a short statement supporting PRS in their Google stand off. They said: "We condemn Google's use of its near-monopoly to dictate terms to PRS For Music. We ask them to get their tanks off our lawn and to either accept the decision of the Copyright Tribunal or else negotiate a reasonable offer based on a transparent analysis of YouTube's advertising revenue income".

The two music industry bodies which have so far remained quiet on this issue are those who represent the record companies - BPI and AIM - though both are affiliated to UK Music who, as we said, have spoken in support of PRS. But those record companies with deals in place with YouTube, and in particular majors Sony, Universal and EMI, will presumably be keen for this stand off to be resolved sooner rather than later - and certainly for it not to result in a permanent removal of premium pop promo content from YouTube - given that they earn revenues from their content on the video site, but won't be able to while access to said content is blocked.

Of course there is some disagreement in record label land as to the value of YouTube revenues - Universal have indicated they are sizable, whereas Warner pulled its content saying that the revenues offered by Google were unsatisfactory. But some reckon Google's decision to pull videos from its UK and German YouTube sites while talks with PRS and GEMA are ongoing - despite the fact neither collecting society has asked them to do so - is primarily a tactic to make the major record companies who are earning from the video service put pressure on PRS and, more importantly, their sister company music publishers, to do whatever it takes to seal a deal regarding publishing royalties with the web company. Though that tactic ignores the proven ability of major record companies and major publishing companies owned by the same parent company to have very different policies on royalty issues.

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MORE LAWSUITS FOR TICKETMASTER OVER TICKETSNOW
The lawsuits in relation to Ticketmaster's promotion of its US secondary ticketing website Tickets Now via its primary website are starting to mount up.

As previously reported, until recently Ticketmaster promoted Tickets Now, the ticket touting website it bought last year, on the website where it was selling tickets as the officially primary seller. If it was unable to sell tickets to an event as the primary seller, for whatever reason, it would redirect people to sales of those tickets on Tickets Now. However, consumer groups argue, Ticketmaster failed to explain to their customers what a secondary ticketing website was, an in particular that tickets can be heavily marked up from their face value on such touting services.

Ticketmaster initially seemed unconcerned when consumer groups criticised it for promoting the secondary service on the primary website, but things changed when Bruce Springsteen accused the ticketing giant of ripping off his fans by sending them to Tickets Now without explaining what that meant. Apologies from Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff quickly followed, compensation for Springsteen fans was offered, and then the New Jersey District Attorney got involved and introduced various restrictions regarding the way Ticketmaster promotes Tickets Now in the future.

Despite the apologies and compensation and New Jersey DA ruling, civil lawsuits against Ticketmaster in relation to TicketsNow have been filed in both the US and Canada by customers who feel aggrieved that they paid marked-up prices for tickets on the secondary service after being redirected there from the ticketing firm's official site. Though it's not clear whether all of those who bought marked-up tickets from Tickets Now were necessarily totally ignorant of how touting websites work.

The latest lawsuit, reported on by Digital Music News, is in San Francisco, where one Shelia Campbell is suing after she bought a marked up ticket for a Detroit Pistons basketball game via Tickets Now. Her lawsuit says: "Until at least February 23, 2009, potential ticket purchasers searching for tickets on Ticketmaster.com at face value were systematically redirected to TicketsNow.com, where tickets are sold at a price considerably above face value".

DMN observe that the mark ups on Campbell's tickets, and the mark ups in another similar case regarding the purchase of Cirque du Soleil tickets, were nominal, and therefore, really, any reasonable compensation claim against Ticketmaster would be equally nominal, even in a US court. However, given how many people have probably bought marked up tickets via TicketsNow after being sent there from Ticketmaster.com, DMN reckons some US lawyers are keen to represent as many claimants as possible on this one, because the fees for them could be handsome, especially if they can make the claims a class action.

None of which is good news for Ticketmaster, who'd rather put all this behind them and concentrate their efforts on getting their proposed Live Nation merger approved. Given the headache Ticketmaster's 'if you can't beat em join em' dabblings in the secondary ticketing market have proven to be, an increasing number of people reckon the ticketing giant will look to offload TicketsNow, and may be its UK secondary ticketing site Get Me In, before its merger with Live Nation.

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LIL WAYNE SUES OVER DOCUMENTARY
Lil Wayne, and his Universal/Cash Money imprint Young Money Entertainment, are suing QD3 Entertainment and Digerati Holdings, both owned by Quincy Jones III, son of the producer Quincy Jones, over claims that they screened a documentary film about the rapper, real name Dwayne Carter, without his approval, despite a previous agreement saying such approval would be sought.

The suit, filed at the LA Superior Court on 23 Mar, charges the companies, as well as named and unnamed individuals, with various counts of fraud and invasion of privacy. The main thrust of the legal action, however, is the claim that the companies went ahead with the aforementioned screening without consent, despite apparently having agreed with the hip-hop star that he could approve the final cut of the movie before its release.

'The Carter', which was screened to some acclaim at the Sundance Festival in January, was filmed over the course of several months and features concert and studio footage, interviews, and up-close and personal moments with the controversial star.

The suit explains that QD3 and Digerati approached Lil Wayne with the documentary idea back in 2007, and in December that year the star signed an agreement to make himself available for filming, as well as making photos and footage from his own personal archive available, an agreement which also stipulated that he was to be allowed "approval rights as to the final cut of the picture" with particular reference to the depiction of any potentially criminal activity. When copies of the film were submitted to Wayne's management in December 2008, they claim that they asked that certain scenes be removed, and demanded that the film not be screened at Sundance unless the cuts were made. The film was subsequently screened as it was, on four separate occasions.

Lil Wayne's people not only accuse the film-makers of breaking their agreement, they suggest that it was always QD3's plan to portray the hip hop star in a negative way. They are seeking an injunction to prevent the distribution of the film, on the basis that it will damage the star's career.

If the documentary doesn't damage his career, perhaps Wayne's determination to produce a rock album will. For the hip-hop superstar has been telling Rolling Stone magazine that it's time to move on, you know, shake things up. The music mag quote Wayne as saying: "The rock shit just comes from what my life is now. I've grown into this person. I just got - I'm not going to say 'so good' at what I was doing, but it became such a regularity for me that I got tired of it. And then I said, 'You know what? I'm not going to rap on this one'".

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THE KILLERS READY TO TAKE THEY NAME LITERALLY?
Not a split story as such, but the Mirror reports that The Killers are "sick of the sight of each other". A source told the paper that their rigorous work schedule and the fact that they've grown apart somewhat over the last few years has brought tensions between the four members to boiling point as they continue to promote their third album, 'Day & Age'.

The source is quoted thus: "They're exhausted. They haven't had a break since they first formed and it has started getting to them. When they started out they were all good friends, but they just don't seem to get on any more. They are sick of the sight of each other. Brandon [Flowers] tries to be a peacemaker but when he loses it the whole band falls apart. They know taking a break could damage their career but they can't see a way out and they don't want to split".

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LEONA LEWIS TO WORK WITH TIMBALAND
Leona Lewis will work with Timbaland on her next album. This is presumably because it's now law that all musicians must work with Timbaland at some point (I can see no other reason why Chris Cornell would have made his new album, 'Scream').

A source told The Mirror: "Timbaland can't wait to work with Leona and make her feisty like Beyoncé and Rihanna. The ballads will still be there but the tracks will be racier and there'll be dancefloor anthems too".

Confirming the news, Lewis' spokesperson said: "It's early stages but we're all very excited".

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ROLLING STONES BACK CATALOGUE TO BE RE-RELEASED
Universal yesterday announced a major re-release programme of classic Rolling Stones albums. The re-releases follow the Stones' decision last year to leave EMI and do a deal, which included much of the band's valuable back catalogue, with Universal.

The re-releases will be of the band's post-1971 albums, the ones brought to Universal as part of last year's deal, though I'm pretty sure the major also own the band's sixties albums through an earlier acquisition, though I've had a very busy morning and didn't have chance to check that.

The re-releases will come as follows...

1st batch - 4 May
Sticky Fingers (2009 re-mastered)
Goats Head Soup (2009 re-mastered)
It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (2009 re-mastered)
Black And Blue (2009 re-mastered)

2nd batch - 8 Jun
Some Girls
Emotional Rescue
Tattoo You
Undercover

3rd batch - 13 Jul
Dirty Work
Steel Wheels
Voodoo Lounge
Bridges To Babylon
A Bigger Bang

Commenting on the re-releases, Universal Music International's Exec VP Max Hole told CMU: "The Rolling Stones redefined music. By making these iconic albums available again - and retaining the essence of the original track listings and sleeve design - we believe that music fans will rediscover just why they are the world's greatest rock & roll band".

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CSN DEMOS TO BE RELEASED
More releases from the archives, though these are previously unreleased demos. Warner's Rhino division in the US will release unreleased demos from Crosby, Stills & Nash, performing in various combinations, as recorded between 1968 and 1971. The album will come out in June in the US, to coincide with the induction of the trio into the US Songwriters Hall Of Fame, and with a US and European tour. I think sometime collaborator Neil Young appears on at least one of the demos. No word on whether there'll be a UK release.

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BECK TO REISSUE BONUS TRACK FILLED DEBUT ALBUM
And yet more US reissues. Beck will reissue his 1994 album 'One Foot In The Grave' later this month, with no less than sixteen bonus tracks, which almost makes it an album of new songs with a bonus album tacked on.

Although Beck has completed his recording commitments to major label Interscope, and despite the fact 'One Foot In The Grave' was originally released by US indie K Records, the reissue will be handled by the Universal division. Not sure if it's getting a proper UK release, though it is listed on Amazon UK with a US release date.

Commenting on the bonus tracks, Beck told Japanese paper Daily Yomiuri: "[On] the original tapes there were an extra maybe 30 songs that weren't on the record, and I picked the best...and added them on there, so it's got about a little over a dozen extra tracks that no one's heard before".

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GHOST OF A THOUSAND TO PREMIERE NEW MATERIAL
UK hardcore types The Ghost Of A Thousand will premiere the first track from their new album on the Radio 1 Rock Show next week. The track, entitled 'Bright Lights', will then be made available to download for a limited time. The album, 'New Hopes, New Demonstrations', is set for release on 1 Jun.

You can hear 'Bright Lights' at some point between 12am and 2am on Radio 1 next Tuesday. The track will then be available to download from the band's website, www.theghostof1000.com, for 48 hours.

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RUMSPRINGA FREE EP ONLINE NOW
One of CMU's very favourite new bands Rumspringa, have just released the first fruits of their previously reported new deal with Dirty Boots Records. And it's a free EP, which means the only excuse you have for not getting it right now would be that you don't have a computer. And, given this is an email bulletin, something tells me that you would be lying if you tried to use that excuse. So, go to www.rumspringamusic.com and get clicky.

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JOHNNY CASH REMIXED
A new compilation of remixed Johnny Cash songs is to be released. The album, imaginatively titled 'Johnny Cash Remixed', has been co-executive produced by Snoop Dogg, Mathew Knowles and John Carter Cash. Snoop himself appears on the LP, on a version of Cash's 'I Walk The Line'.

Here's what John Carter Cash says about the project: "My father made his stead defying the expected and accepted way of things. He set the standard at the same time. He would have loved this remix record. While it stays true to the original recordings, the CD touches on undiscovered ground. My father was about staying true to tradition while creating ground breaking music".

The album is out on 15 Jun. Here's the tracklisting:

Get Rhythm (Philip Steir Remix)
Big River (Count de Money Remix)
Country Boy (Sonny J Remix)
I Walk The Line (QDT Music Remix featuring Snopp Dogg)
Doin' My Time (The Heavy Remix)
Leave That Junk Alone (Alabama 3 Remix)
Port Of Lonely Hearts (Midnight Juggernauts Remix)
Folsom Prison Blues (Pete Rock Remix)
Straight A's In Love (Troublemaker Remix)
Sugartime (Kennedy Remix)
Rock Island Line (Wolf Remix)
Belshazzar (Machine Drum Remix)
I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow (Apparat Remix)

Bonus Tracks (presumably these are not on all versions of the release):
Wide Open Road (Count de Money Remix)
Trail To Mexico (Mexican Institute Of Sound Remix)
Hey Porter (Mocean Worker Remix)
Katy Too (DJ Enjay Remix)
My Treasure (J G Scott Remix)

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WINEHOUSE TO PLAY NEW SONGS IN MAY
Amy Winehouse has said she'll play new material at a comeback show at Shepherd's Bush Empire on 31 May, according to reports. The singer is quoted as saying: "I hope to play some new songs. I'm busy in the studio at the minute". So there you go.

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LAURYN HILL TO PLAY MONTREUX JAZZ FEST
Former Fugee Lauryn Hill is to appear at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival. The event, which is in its 43rd year, takes place from 3-18 Jul and sees more than a thousand musicians taking part.

Hill joins artists such as The Black Eyed Peas, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan and The Dave Matthews Band on the bill for this year's series of events, which will include a three day tribute to Island Records founder Chris Blackwell.

Festival founder Claude Nobs boasts: "It's a festival like no other. You don't have to buy a ticket to take advantage, there are lots of free events from noon to five in the morning. Expect the unusual. The unions aren't in charge and a concert finishes when it finishes".

Hills appearance could well grab the headlines, given her somewhat erratic and sometimes shambolic public performances in recent years. As you'll remember, her former collaborators have accused Hills' recent erratic ways as being the reason why there's not been a proper Fugees reunion.

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BASEMENT JAXX TO PLAY IMS
Basement Jaxx have been confirmed to play the grand finale of previously reported The International Music Summit, most of which will take place at the Ibiza Gran Hotel from 27 - 29 May.

The three day event, which will feature speakers from Nokia, Disney, AEG, Big Chill, Ingenious and BBC Radio 1, culminates with the large scale live event at Ibiza's world heritage site Dalt Vila. Basement Jaxx will be joined by The Filthy Dukes, and DJs Richie Hawtin, Pete Tong and Rob da Bank. The gig isn't only aimed at delegates, 700 public tickets will also be made available for it.

Basement Jaxx say this: "We're delighted to have been asked to close the Grand Finale of the International Music Summit 2009 inside the castle at the top of the old town of Ibiza. To play such a spectacular and intimate venue on the island where we've had so many good times was a temptation we couldn't turn down. What a brilliant way to kick off summer 2009!"

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CITY SHOWCASE ANNOUNCES ACTS
City Showcase have announced their first set of chosen acts for this year's event, which takes place in London from 7 - 9 May.

Amongst those expected to play the new music festival's free shows at Borderline are Sky Larkin, White Belt Yellow Tag , My Toys Like Me , Swound , The Telegraphs , Hunting The Minatour , The Screaming Lights and The 9000. The nights are sponsored by Xfm and the station's DJs Jon Hillcock and Ian Camfield will host.

City Showcase has in the past featured then up and coming acts like Razorlight , Keane, Scouting For Girls and Hot Chip. More acts for this year are expected to be announced over the course of the next few weeks.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Hours - See The Light (Is Good)
Their debut album could have established Anthony Genn and Martin Slattery as stars in their own right, after years as the nomads of British music, playing with everyone from Black Grape to Elastica, via Pulp and the legendary Joe Strummer (as part of The Mescaleros). It had the quality you'd expect from such esteemed professionals, but sadly it never quite took off in the way it perhaps deserved to. This, their second album, even more powerful and dynamic than the debut, is their chance to address that wrong. And hopefully the world will wake up and see the light, and hear just how good The Hours really are, because this is another brilliant trail through simple, smart songwriting. Produced by Flood, there's a rawness here that re-enforces a passion that manifests itself through its themes of loving people, loving music, and, well, what else matters? In a music industry where artists are exerting every cubit of what imagination they have to think of new ways to sound, write, record and distribute, the power of a good song, sung with tenacity and viscera can be overlooked. But it shouldn't be, and nor should The Hours, who have that kind of power by the bucket load. TM
Release Date: 20 Apr
Press Contact: Wild PR [CP]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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HOSTESS CONFIRM DEAL WITH SONY JAPAN
Hostess Entertainment, the independent music company that represents various international artists and labels in Japan, including Domino and PIAS, has announced a deal with Sony Music Japan which will see the major provide distribution, logistical and other support for some of the releases being handled by Hostess.

I'm not entirely sure what this means for Hostess' previously reported distribution deal with BMG Japan, which was first announced at the start of last year. You might be thinking that Sony Japan and BMG Japan would be the same thing, what, with all former BMG labels now owned by Sony Music and all. But that would be a far too simplistic view of the world.

Sony Music Japan was never part of the SonyBMG joint venture, and bosses their report directly to the Sony Corp parent company, and not the Sony Music (formerly SonyBMG) HQ in New York. BMG Japan, though, was part of the SonyBMG joint venture, so is now a subsidiary of Sony Music and does report into the Sony Music HQ in the US. So, in Japan, Sony Music isn't part of Sony Music but BMG is.

Anyway, enough of that, here's what Hostess top man Andrew Lazonby has to say about his new distribution and whatnot deal with Sony Japan: "The feeling that there's a strong potential for success by the two companies working together, fusing our different strengths, was mutual". Hostess, you should all note, remains totally independent in terms of ownership.

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IMG AND ATLANTIC MERGE, PLAN ACQUISITION SPREE
Independent music publishers IMG and Atlantic Screen Music have merged, and the merged enterprise now plans to buy up a number of other publishing catalogues to capitalise on the global copyright administration structure Atlantic say they have put in place.

Atlantic previously acquired Copyright Administration Services, meaning the new combined company will boast the skills and experience of CAS's founder Tim Hollier, and IMG founder and PRS chairman Ellis Rich.

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OMNIFONE LAUNCH COMBINED MOBILE/PC UNLIMITED TUNES SERVICE IN HONG KONG
Mobile music service provider Omnifone, who provide the back end to Vodafone's MusicStation in the UK and who are busy preparing Ericsson's rival to Nokia's Comes With Music, has announced it will launch its first combined PC/mobile unlimited music offer in Hong Kong.

The new service, which will be called MusicStation Desktop Edition and will be launched in the territory via Omnifone's tel co partner Hutchison, follows the London-based firm's announcement back at Midem that it would be bringing the unlimited music offer it has been providing in the mobile space for sometime to PC users through partnerships with both mobile networks and internet service providers.

Confirming the new PC version of MusicStation, Omnifone top man Rob Lewis told CMU: "The introduction of MusicStation Desktop Edition enables our partners to deliver interoperable unlimited music services to PC and mobile, generating significant revenues from digital music consumption. With the music industry facing 95% piracy rates, Omnifone's subscription based music services provide a legitimate alternative to illegal P2P filesharing, delivering unlimited access to millions of tracks over multiple device platforms".

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SPOTIFY APPOINT UK MD
Talking of unlimited music services, Spotify has appointed Paul Brown, formerly International MD for US-based streaming music provider Pandora, as their UK MD. Brown who, as previously reported, is also on the board of fan investment service Slicethepie, will head up the UK operations of the ever popular Spotify from later this month. He will be charged with developing the service's label relationships, and overseeing business development in the UK, especially through strategic alliances. He will also work with the company's UK ad sales man Jon Mitchell to boost all important ad revenues.

Confirming his appointment, Brown said this: "I am hugely excited about joining the Spotify team. The people in the business are passionate about it and it shows in the service itself. The thing that has struck me and others is that consumers are responding so positively to Spotify because it works, it is simple and slick and there is so much more to come. An important part of the job will be to work closely with labels, artists and their management and other partners to user growth and revenues while continuing to develop the product to be the very best it can. I am looking forward to playing my part in that".

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VODAFONE USE REAL FOR UNLIMITED MUSIC SERVICE IN SPAIN
And talking of unlimited mobile music services, which we sort of were with the Omnifone story, Vodafone has launched an all you can eat music package in Spain utilising a RealNetworks powered platform (rather than Omnifone's MusicStation, which the phone firm badges in the UK). The Spanish service will offer access to unlimited but DRMed music downloads with the cost bundled into a fourteen euro a month phone tariff. The music stops playing when a subscription lapses.

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RADIOCENTRE CALLS FOR LOCAL MEDIA REGULATIONS TO BE RELAXED
Commercial radio trade body RadioCentre has called on the Office Of Fair Trading to relax rules on local media mergers, in particular with a view to allowing local radio and print media to merge. The radio body made the comments as the OFT considers representations from the struggling local newspaper industry which has called for a relaxation of media ownership rules so to help local papers consilodate to cut costs as advertising revenues continue to slump. RadioCentre says that any review of media ownership regulation should include the local radio sector.

RadioCentre boss Andrew Harrison: "The level of ownership regulation faced by the commercial radio sector is out of all proportion to the industry's size and influence on the advertising market. More than ever, we compete in a multi-media world for advertisers' revenues as well as for consumers' time. Commercial radio is a small industry facing serious economic challenges, yet the combination of the current merger regime and media ownership rules restricts the activities of local radio in an even more severe manner than for the newspaper and TV industries".

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MAXIM UK TO CLOSE
Another men's mag will disappear from the news-stand next month. The UK edition of Dennis Publishing owned Maxim will close once the next issue, the June edition, is published later this month. Moving forward the US edition of the magazine will be sold over here instead, even though that's no longer owned by Dennis, while UK content will be available online on a Dennis-owned website, produced by a much smaller editorial team.

Maxim was launched in 1995 so that Dennis could have a slice of the then booming lads mag market that was led by Loaded. But as glossy mags lose readers and advertisers amid new competition from t'internet etc, it seems it's no longer viable to keep the print title going in the UK.

Dennis Publishing CEO James Tye said this: "The Maxim brand remains the best-selling men's lifestyle magazine in the world, but Dennis Publishing must move with the times and recognise that the future of the brand in the UK is online. We are extremely proud of what Maxim UK has achieved. As a print magazine, it was at the forefront of the UK lifestyle market and as a website it will continue to inform and entertain thousands of readers every day".

Maxim's closure follows Bauer's announcement it was closing the more upmarket men's mag Arena last month. Other men's magazines Nuts, Zoo and the once iconic Loaded have all seen readerships decline in recent years amid new competition from the internet, and some reckon they will continue to do so, especially as free titles like Shortlist and Sport increasingly satisfy the young male consumer's print media needs.

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SPACE SINGER CROSS ABOUT APRIL FOOL DEATH
Former Space singer Tommy Scott has spoken out for a second time about whoever it was that sent an April Fool email claiming that he had died.

A fake press release was sent out earlier this week, pretending to be from Scott's current label Antipop Records, and claiming that the had expired from heart failure at the age of 37 on 31 Mar. The musician, now performing with The Drellas, immediately reacted angrily when local radio reported on his supposed death, saying "I can't say how angry I am about this. I'm alive and well, but to have my mum believing I was dead was beyond a joke. I just can't believe this has happened. The phone hasn't stopped, but now we just want to find out who is responsible. There's going to be hell to pay".

Now he's told The Liverpool Echo about the impact it had on his family. Scott said: "I'm devastated. The first I knew my mum was on the phone in bits. She'd heard it on the radio and couldn't get through on the phone to me at first. As far as she knew, I was a dead man. My aunties all came round, my sisters were in tears. The whole family thought I was dead, and I didn't know anything about it. The only saving grace was that I was with my wife, so she was spared the upset. My little daughter was with us, watching the TV. She doesn't know anything about it - and I don't want her to. I don't want her to even think her daddy could be dead. She'd be terrified".

He added that the culprit is yet to be identified: "They're investigating now to find out who did this - and why. I can't understand why anyone would do something like that, particularly so close to the Hillsborough anniversary. These jokers ought to be thinking about people who actually died in tragic circumstances, not hurting innocent people like this. There are real people who die every day from heart failure and this just makes a mockery of them. My mum, well my whole family, are still upset. I'm gutted. I really am".

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KEITH MOON WAS BEACH BOYS FAN, SAYS DALTRY
Roger Daltrey claims that his late colleague Keith Moon was so keen on The Beach Boys that he would have left The Who to join them if he's been given the chance.

Daltrey told Australian tabloid The Courier-Mail: "He was a mad Beach Boys fan. He would have left the Who at the drop of a hat to join the Beach Boys. Even at our height, when the Beach Boys were on their way down and the Who were at the top of the world, if the Beach Boys had asked him to drum for them, he would have gone. We used to do 'Barbara Ann' for Keith to keep him happy!"

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TOMMY LEE BATTLES IMPOSTER
Tommy Lee has said that someone claiming to be him, who has posted on singles site millionairematch.com, is an imposter. A picture of the Motley Crue star appears alongside the username d33pthr0at, with details listed as: "Caucasian, drummer, 46, has kids, smokes and drinks regularly, travels a lot... and is rich as can be". A spokesperson says in a statement: "Tommy Lee has no knowledge of this website or of this posting".

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WITHERSPOON WILL BUY PHOENIX'S RAP ALBUM
Well, Joaquin Phoenix can rely on his album selling one copy when it's released, because according to reports, actress Reese Witherspoon, who appeared alongside him in Johnny Cash biopic 'Walk The Line', is planning to buy the album. "He's very musical obviously" she's reported as saying "He knows what he's doing". Not everyone would agree of course. Perhaps she's in on the alleged hoax...

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SATURDAYS GIRL LOVES KINGS OF LEON
Frankie Sandford of The Saturdays has said that Kings Of Leon would be her best band ever to collaborate with. Speaking about her band's appearance at this year's V, she said: "V Festival is definitely one of my favourite festivals and I am so excited to be playing there this year. If I could, my dream collaboration would be with the Kings of Leon who are also playing at this year's V Fest".

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